Classic, warm and beachy, these were the adjectives my client used when describing to me how she wanted her home’s living room/dining room and kitchen to feel. She also wanted to have lots of storage in all three rooms. And we achieved just that. I visited her last week and took some photos to show just how great the transformation turned out.

This is the view from the entry now.

After – beachy living and dining room

The befores:

I did up a couple of mood boards and sourced products for her so that she could follow the plan along at her own pace as her time and budget allowed. She also has an extremely handy father who did alot of the hands on work. Trades people were hired for the jobs that were not DIY and I think this makeover shows just how much you can do on a fairly strict budget.

So obviously this was a fairly extensive makeover, new hardwood floors were installed in a medium tone brown to keep the look classic and timeless. The dining table was an existing one that her father had made so it was incorporated into the space. The sofa was custom made and the case goods were picked up from big box stores.

I suggested that she use some of her own family pictures in the 4 large frames and they have turned out perfectly. She already has plans to rotate in some newer pictures. The drapery was ready made and adds some graphic pattern to the palette.

The bird and octopus artwork was purchased by my client on her yearly trips to Prince Edward County and they are the perfect compliment to the space.

Now onto the kitchen. Here’s what it looks like now.

And here’s the befores:

We continued with the same drapery as the living room and dining room as the windows are literally right beside each other. The hardwood floor was continued throughout the kitchen as well to keep the flow from room to room. The existing dark wood cabinetry was painted out to match the new pantry and open shelving.

An antique feeling dark wood table was added to tie in with the dark wood floors and the chairs were my client’s grandmothers, which serendipiously match the table perfectly. I selected a clear glass pendant to keep the sight lines open to the new backyard deck, as well as a glass and gold flush mount fixture (not shown) for the working area of the kitchen. Under cabinet lighting was also added during the renovation.

The bronze/gold Brizo Talo faucet sparkles like a piece of jewelry on the Caesarstone Quartz white counter and the backsplash is actually tile that looks so much like barn wood, you have to touch it to believe it.

These extra cabinets added much needed storage to the space challenged kitchen and a little touch of display area, which can be changed out to a bar or appetizer area when guests are expected.

This long, long wall opposite the stove, was treated to some softly textured wallpaper that is wipeable and adds a little extra pattern to the kitchen. My client found these adorable mirror spheres that hide the unused and unsightly phone outlet.

The Brizo Talo faucet.

Some added display area that also showcases the backsplash.

My client is thrilled with her home and it’s new look. She says when she gets home she breathes a happy sigh and settles in for some R & R. Which just makes me smile!

Well this week has been a bit of a challenge! To recap, I’m a guest participant in the One Room Challenge, hosted by Linda at Calling It Home. Bloggers link up and share the challenge of completing their one room transformations in a mere six weeks. You can follow the featured designers here and my fellow linkers here, as they share their inspirations, challenges and of course, the results.

I’ve actually been away in Florida for the past week, hence the challenge. So I am scrambling a little to catch up.

I am planning to start my bookcase makeover, this week and it will entail some paint and wallpaper. Yes, this is where I’m using the Quilt wallpaper from Hygge & West.

And yes, that is Milo’s tail in the corner of the pic. He loves to photobomb.

I also had some fun getting the light fixture, when I went to order it from my regular lighting supplier, it was discontinued….what? and they didn’t have any in their warehouse….sob. So after a little more sourcing I found a very similar one at Zone in the market and luckily they had one in stock. I was off like a shot to pick it up. I just have to pick up the proper bulbs and get hubby to install it for me and that can be checked off the list.

So this week’s objectives, paint the bookcase, light fixture installed and get the drapes finished. Wish me luck!

So time is just flying. So to recap, I’m a guest participant in the One Room Challenge , which was started a few years ago by Linda at Calling It Home. Bloggers link up and share their one room transformations that they are attempting to do in a mere six weeks. You can follow along the featured designers here and my fellow linkers here, as they share their inspirations, challenges and of course, the results.

Last week, I got a lot accomplished. I finished up my inspiration mood board, selected wallpaper, fabric and wallpaper. Placed a few orders and also, miraculously even had the room painted. I really thought that was not going to happen until much later on. I also had the drapery rod installed and did some sourcing at Ikea.

I’ve been working on the drapes, which I decided to tackle myself, as they are very simple panels. Again, not so sure this was a great idea as I’m a little strapped for time and obviously, I’m not a professional sewer. Here’s hoping they turn out okay.

The Ikea chair is all put together, it looks great and is very comfy. I also assembled this Alex storage unit. Can’t wait to fill the drawers will lots of my hobby and sewing supplies. I love that it’s on casters so I can roll it around to where I need it, depending on what I’m doing.

As I mentioned last week, I picked up some storage pieces from Ikea to use for my craft and sewing supplies. Here’s a few ideas that I’m planning to use….hopefully.

Images via Ikea and Pinterest

So to explain, the hanging fabric on hangers is brilliant, as currently they are in a big mess on my bookcase and this way you can see exactly what you have and it’ll be nicely tucked away out of sight in my closet, until I need to see what I have. Of course, this won’t work for the big bolts of upholstery and drapery fabric that I have but thankfully there aren’t too many of those. I picked up some of these hanging containers and rods from Ikea and I’m thinking I’ll be using them somewhere, somehow. The magnetic strips are typically used for knife storage or spices, but I have another idea for it. Instead of spices, think beads and buttons!

Mostly, this week I tackled some spray painting. I wanted to add a little more gold to the Ikea sconces. Take a peek at the before and after:

I’ve had a bit of a challenge with the main light fixture this week, but more on that next week. I’ll also be sharing some more painting updates on my next post.

So, it’s already Week 2 of the ORC and to recap, I’m a guest participant in the One Room Challenge , which was started a few years ago by Linda at Calling It Home. Bloggers link up and share their one room transformations that they are attempting to do in a mere six weeks. You can follow along the featured designers here and my fellow linkers here, as they share their inspirations, challenges and of course, the results.

So this is a little design lesson in my choice of fabric and the inspiration it provided for the room. Starting with the paisley fabric, which by the way was actually a duvet cover I found in the clearance section of Toronto’s Pottery Barn last fall. It was exactly what I was looking for, a fabric with a fun pattern that had the orangey, rusts in it to coordinate with the existing orangey wood tables that I had.

Because I wanted a warm/cool mix in the room, it was easy for me to pull the turquoise out of the fabric to use as a wall colour.

The turquoise office chair was a totally serendipitious find at Ikea yesterday. It was labeled “last chance” on Ikea’s display wall and when I went to the furniture pick up aisle, it was the last one! And it is exactly one shade darker than the wall colour. Totally meant to be!

The Ikea drawer unit in grey repeats the grey in the fabric and the light fixtures in black complement the fabric and a little bit of black in every room is a must! The Quilt wallpaper in cayenne from Hygge & West is the perfect graphic print to contrast the paisley fabric. You’ll just have to keep visiting to see where it will be used. The last little pop of pattern is a cheery little turquoise and white chevron fabric from Tonic Living to add a dash of colour in an unexpected place….teaser 🙂

I love the gold wall clock that I’ve shown here, but unfortunately it’s out of stock at All Modern, until June….sob. So if anyone knows of a similar one, please let me know. And why did I choose gold for the clock, well it repeats the bit of gold in the two light fixtures and the golden yellow in the drapery fabric. See there is a reason why every item is selected.

I also picked up a few storage items at Ikea yesterday, which I’ll share next week. And my luck was still holding, when my painter called on Monday to say that because of a delayed job, he was available to start this week. Woot! So this is happening now!

On a side note, that cute little beach print is from Minted, and I just framed it with an Ikea Ribba frame in high gloss grey, that I already had. The floor lamp is also from Ikea, many, many, years.

The adorable terrarium is from my son’s wedding, last Fall. It’s such a great keepsake and it’s sitting on a sturdy metal side table that was from Pier 1.

I sewed up the matching throw cushions with the left overs from the piping material. They were cut on the diagonal to make the piping so I decided to make that a feature on the pillow, hence the diagonal line. I then found it a little boring, so I added in the mother of pearl buttons to finish them off.